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Sunday, July 30, 2017

Yesterday, the installation of 1326's fourth motor was completed. The shop took the car out for testing after hours. The car has great power and runs smoothly. John will do some final adjustments during the week and we'll have the car back in service next Saturday.

Motor running exposed for testing

Galen and John watch the newly installed motor 3 during the test trip

1326 at the station after the successful test trip

Work also continued on 169's anticlimber. The final replacement piece was glued on. We also are testing out fiber glassing on the south side of the car, as the wooden panels keep splitting.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Repair of the damaged section of 169's anitclimber has begun. The damaged face was smoothed off and new wood cut to rough shape and affixed. The first new section was then planed closer to the correct shape. The wood glue needs to dry completely before further work can be done.

The first patch piece has been cut to rough shape

First patch piece has been planed to shape and second piece has been affixed

Sunday, July 16, 2017

1326's fourth motor has been assembled. The car was jacked and the truck pulled. Installation work will continue next weekend.

Adam poses with the freshly assembled motor

Elsewhere, John has gone through 3001's lower wiring harness, labeling everything. The harness will be removed and stored until winter when we can lay it out inside the Visitors' Center. It will be used as a pattern to assemble a new harness. The current wiring is in poor condition and is not worth attempting to save.

We are happy to welcome back Paul and Noah, alumni of last year's Trolley Care Class. They assisted Galen, Jim, and Adam with the motor build. Noah also helped Kelly and Adam clean 355's controllers.

Sunday, July 9, 2017

The shop started the day with a repair to 355. The car had a derailment Thursday, leading to a broken bolt in the brake system. John and Galen were able to conduct a relatively quick repair with assistance from Adam. Unfortunately, the accident set us back half a day on the 1326's motor installation, although Galen was able to start motor assembly in the afternoon.

Chris is here for his annual visit and is hard at work on 3100.

3100 is out from under its tarp

Paul and Kelly worked on 169's front end yesterday, drilling out a hole to accept a pin when the car needs to be towed. Larry also got his first experience with bondo, filling in the gaps where the wood has split on the car's south side. In the afternoon, the car's original anti-climber was rescued from atop a tall shelving unit and the wooden potion was test fitted. The wood is relatively solid, however it shows signs that the car may have been in an accident. The metal sheathing is also deformed.

Welcome

Following the process of maintaining and restoring trolley cars in the Lusa Car Shop at the Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor Connecticut.

Interested in working with the trolleys? The Shop is always open to new volunteers, as are the other departments at the museum. Head on over to the museum's website for more information. No experience is necessary, just a willingness to help.